Alex McCall - Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens - Book Trailer - Kelpies - Published Today

Why did the chicken cross the road? TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! The city of Aberdeen is being terrorised by giant robot chickens who want to peck out every last sign of human resistance. The streets are empty, the adults have vanished - and those left behind are fighting for survival. Jesse and his friends are desperate to save their families and stop the feathered fiends. They hatch a master plan ...but can a gang of kids REALLY defeat an army of angry robot chickens? A hilarious, weird and wonderful adventure from a cracking new author.

New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK Post Two

Bethany Wiggins - Cured - Published by Bloomsbury Children's  - 13, March 2014

Fiona Tarsis is a legend. Her world was ravaged by a lethal virus, her family separated. Her friends were turned into ferocious beasts by an even deadlier vaccine. Mindless monsters now raid the streets. But Fiona has survived.

Jacqui Bloom needs Fiona's help. Two years ago, Jacqui's brother, Dean, left the safety of his home to guide Fiona's mother to a safe haven. He never returned. Jacqui has been hiding away in the family house, disguised as a boy, and hoping Dean will come back. But she can no longer live like this. She has to find him.

Even with the two men Fiona loves most by their side, leading Jacqui into the desert will be risky. Raiders are everywhere - they will do anything to prevent the beast-cure her group are carrying from being spread - and knowing who to trust is near impossible. Lone traveller Kevin is sexy and self-assured, and has caught Jacqui's attention, but he is hiding his past. Is he also hiding the truth about what he really wants from them?

Ellen Renner - Tribute - Published by Hot Key Books - 6, March 2014 

What if your greatest enemy was yourself? Zara is a mage, one of the elite in a world where magic is power, and the non-magic majority live as slaves. When her Tribute child (slave) best friend is killed for the crime of literacy, Zara seeks revenge by spying for the rebel Knowledge Seekers. She finds her bravery and magical skill tested to the limit when a young Maker, Aidan, is taken hostage in a bid for supposed peace. Surprised by first love, she promises to help him. But before Zara can keep her promise, her secret is discovered. Hunted by her own, she seeks refuge with the Knowledge Seekers. But when you can kill with a thought, can you ever be trusted?

Lari Don - Mind Blind - Published by Kelpies Teen - 20, March 2014 

'I killed a girl today, just after the school bell. I keep trying to tell myself I didn't really kill her. But she's dead. And it's my fault.' 14-year-old Ciaran Bane is a highly trained fighter and gifted cat burglar with a special talent: he knows what his victim is thinking. He works in a mafia-style family of gangsters, thieves and thugs who share his mind-reading talent. But Ciaran's skill comes with a crippling side effect, one that makes him disposable - even to his own family. Then he meets Lucy, whose older sister has been kidnapped, and they form an unlikely team. But on their perilous search across London and up to Edinburgh, on the run from MI5 and Ciaran's dangerous family, can they ever trust each other? And where can they hide if they aren't even safe in their own minds? Award-winning author Lari Don skilfully weaves a fast-paced world of secrets, power and supernatural abilities in her first book for young teens.

Victoria Scott - Fire and Flood - Published by Chicken House - 6, March 2014

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

Guest Post: Howard Sargent - The Forgotten War - Book Guild Publishing 2014

It would have been around 1972 when I was six or seven that, whilst visiting my auntie’s house I first spotted a book that intrigued me. It was called “Watership Down and had a picture of a rabbit on the cover. I “borrowed” it and spent the ensuing years reading and re-reading it so much the cover fell off. Then, about three years later my father, fed up with seeing this book constantly in my hand bought me a much larger book to replace it. Inevitably it was called “The Lord of the Rings” and I ended up reading and re-reading it until its cover too finally fell off. They were probably the two most formative books of my childhood so that when my sister, back in July 2011 challenged me to write something for her their influence was never far away. I tend to believe that, as individuals, we are influenced by everything we see or hear, consciously or otherwise but I would have to acknowledge other debts to the films “Dragonslayer” and the 1971 version of “Macbeth”. 

Both are rather flawed films but the former has the best pre (and maybe post) CGI dragon I have seen an cinema whilst the latter has bags of brooding atmosphere and castle courtyards full of mud and farm animals, all images I had in mind as I was writing. Finally I have to acknowledge a debt to the PC game “Dragon Age; Origins”, a great game in itself it gave the player the opportunity to start with one of several different types of backgrounds before entering the main quest line. It was this that gave me the idea of how to start my own attempt at a novel. What if, I thought, instead of having a single protagonist I had about three or four? If I were to create a world from scratch it would afford great opportunities to create something a little more multi layered than the conventional fantasy world. 

As for the over-arching concept I remembered watching sometime in the eighties a news report on the civil war in Mozambique. It was a war sponsored by apartheid South Africa, a war waged to destabilise a neighbour, one not driven by ideology or revolution, just a nasty little war barely regarded by most of the western world. So that gave me the title at least. Initially it was written as three separate stories with a fourth added later because there was one scene I wanted to include that would not have fitted in elsewhere. It was not until the book was actually finished that I went back and combined these stories and split them into chapters, it was not until about chapter 15 in the final book that I started writing it as one continuous novel. I tried to write at least a thousand words a day it taking me 3-4 weeks to complete a section of 30-40,000 words that I then emailed off to my sister. When I was stuck, I would leave it for a day or too, eventually the way forward would come to me, usually at 2 or 3 in the morning after a typically restless night. 

My record for a day was 10,000 words, a key chapter and one I wrote without letting up pretty much from dawn till dusk. And now it is finally in print. I have no great ambitions as a writer and genuinely would be happier if just 20 people read the book and enjoyed it rather than 20,000 read it with 19,990 hating it. It was fun to do and very fulfilling, which is probably the most important thing of all.   

Published by Book Guild Publishing to order your copy here: link http://www.bookguild.co.uk/the-forgotten-war-pr-1422.html

Also find him on Twitter: @howardjsargent 

New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK Post One

                           

Philip Webb - Where the Rock Splits the Sky - Published by Chicken House - 25 March 2014
The moon has been split, and the Visitors have Earth in their alien grip. But the captive planet? That's not her problem. Megan just wants to track down her missing dad...

The world stopped turning long before Megan was born. Ever since the Visitors split the moon and stilled the Earth, permanent sunset is all anyone has known. But now, riding her trusty steed Cisco, joined by her posse, Kelly and Luis, Megan is on the run from her Texas hometown, journeying across the vast, dystopic American West to hunt down her father. To find him, she must face the Zone, a notorious landscape where the laws of nature do not apply. The desert can play deadly tricks on the mind, and the quest will push Megan past her limits. But to solve the mystery of not just her missing father but of the paralyzed planet itself, she must survive it--and an alien showdown.
                                   

Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws - Published by Bloomsbury - 13 March 2014 - 
Book Review http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/02/book-review-peter-jay-black-urban.html
In a bunker hidden deep beneath London live five extraordinary kids: meet world-famous hacker Jack, gadget geek Charlie, free runner Slink, comms chief Obi and decoy diva Wren. They're not just friends; they're URBAN OUTLAWS. They outsmart London's crime gangs and hand out their dirty money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s).

Their latest mission - hacking the bank account of criminal mastermind Del Sarto - has landed them in serious trouble. Del Sarto is going head-to-head with MI5 for control of Proteus, an advanced quantum computer able to crack any code and steal top-secret documents in nanoseconds. It's down to the URBAN OUTLAWS to use their guile, guts and skill to destroy Proteus, avert world domination . . . and stay alive
                                   

   
David Baldacci - The Finisher - Published by Macmillan Children's - 4 March 2014
In The Finisher, a 14-year-old girl named Vega Jane lives in a village called Wormwood where the citizens have been told that the forest surrounding them is full of monsters. When Vega's mentor disappears, leaving behind a secret message, she begins to realize that Wormwood is a village built on dangerous lies.
                                       

Matt Haig - Echo Boy - Published by Bodley Head - 25 March 2014 
Audrey's father taught her that to stay human in the modern world, she had to build a moat around herself; a moat of books and music, philosophy and dreams. A moat that makes Audrey different from the echoes: sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble humans and to work for human masters. Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he's determined to save her. The Echo Boy is a powerful story about love, loss and what makes us truly human.

EVENT: UK'S FIRST ADULT LITERATURE CONVENTION - LONDON JULY 2014

                       

Big names announced for UK’s first Young Adult Literature Convention

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman and the London Film and Comic Convention are pleased to announce an initial list of authors who will be appearing at the UK’s first ever Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC). Among them are bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant author and self-confessed movie buff Derek Landy, double Carnegie Medal winning Patrick Ness, and Red House Book Award winner Sophie Mackenzie. Also on the bill is previous Booktrust Online Writer in Residence Matt Haig, 24 year old debut Natasha Ngan, publisher-turned-author Ruth Warburton and bestselling horror writer Darren Shan. Completing the list announced today is Being a Boy author James Dawson, and of course Malorie Blackman herself. Further names, as well as days and times of authors’ appearances will be announced in due course.

YALC will form a highlight of Malorie Blackman’s campaign as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate. It will take place at the London Film and Comic Con (LFCC), at Earl’s Court, London on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2014. YALC will bring together all the UK’s YA publishers to provide a host of author events in a dedicated Book Zone, with talks, workshops, signings, a book sales area and publisher stands promoting new and upcoming titles. Blackman will act as a curator for the two-day convention, uniting authors and publishers throughout the UK community. 2014’s YALC event will be the first time a large scale public convention around YA books has taken place in the UK, and its setting among the fans of cultish film and TV will set books at the heart of entertainment for teens and young people.

The full list of names announced today:

·         Malorie Blackman

·         James Dawson

·         Matt Haig

·         Derek Landy

·         Sophie McKenzie

·         Patrick Ness

·         Natasha Ngan

·         Darren Shan

·         Ruth Warburton

More names will be announced as they are confirmed. For more information about the London Film and Comic Con, visit their website here: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ and follow @YALC_UK on Twitter for all the YALC news!

BIG BOOK COVER REVEAL - SOPHIA McDOUGALL - MARS EVACUEES

Check out the post that supports this reveal on Sophia's blog Here

Book Cover Synopsis: The fact that someone had decided I’d be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

I’d been worried that I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm.

And, despite everything that happened to me and my friends afterwards, I’d do it all again.  Because until you have been shot at, pursued by terrifying aliens, taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived.

SophiaMcDougall: http://sophiamcdougall.com/blog/

Twitter: @McDougallSophia 

Andy Potts Book Cover Illustrator - Website http://andy-potts.com/
Twitter: @AndyPottsTweet 

Published by Egmont (27 Mar 2014) - All images are subject to copyright...

Book Review: Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws - Published by Bloomsbury

Book Synopsis: In a bunker hidden deep beneath London live five extraordinary kids: meet world-famous hacker Jack, gadget geek Charlie, free runner Slink, comms chief Obi and decoy diva Wren. They're not just friends; they're URBAN OUTLAWS. They outsmart London's crime gangs and hand out their dirty money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s).

Their latest mission - hacking the bank account of criminal mastermind Del Sarto - has landed them in serious trouble. Del Sarto is going head-to-head with MI5 for control of Proteus, an advanced quantum computer able to crack any code and steal top-secret documents in nanoseconds. It's down to the URBAN OUTLAWS to use their guile, guts and skill to destroy Proteus, avert world domination . . . and stay alive.

Book Review: I was really happy to receive this book out of the blue. The synopsis sounded too exciting to wait, so I got stuck into reading it straight away. I absolutely loved every minute of this book - it was a top class journey into an amazingly fresh, fantasy world. Daydreaming at its very best in my opinion. It's definitely a book that small boys will love and where 'bigger' boys will find themselves being transported back to their childhood.  

This book gives an insight into the cool, fresh world of gadgets and computers. Following the hacking and the hi-tech surveillance world, the geek in me was definitely unleashed within this book. I particularly loved the deployment of the spring-heeled, free-running shoes in this adventure. This was a fantastically crazy but very inventive element of the story. I also enjoyed the idea and development of the Random Acts of Kindness which can be found within the book. These are very thought provoking as they strike elements of the modern day Robin Hood theme into the heart of the story.

The story features five savvy children, each with their own special skills, who are very likeable. They take on the government, as well as some unsavoury characters, in order to act on what they think and believe is right. This belief leads to a high-octane adventure which is explosive to read. 

The author has written a great debut book encompassing a child's dream and the author's IT experience to create a blockbuster read. I would highly recommend this book for all readers. However this could really capture the imagination of any reluctant reader - they would never get bored whilst reading this adventure and would be hooked until the very end. With at least four more books to be published, we are in for a real treat.....

Published by Bloomsbury 6th March 2014

Similar authors; Eoin Colfer, Andrew Lane, Robert Muchamore, Anthony Horowitz.

Adult Book Review Diary: The Forgotten War by Howard Sargent

                         

I am writing this book review with a beaming smile on my face because when I agreed to review this book for the publisher, I only initially read the book synopsis. I felt that this sounded particularly good and I was really happy to agree to the review. However what I did not realise at the time was the gigantic size of the book. It must have cost a king's ransom to post it out to me. I jest you not, this book must weigh a tome and a half with more than a thousand pages making up the story. I'm sure that I have seen smaller telephone directories - I'm beginning to wonder how long this might take me to read from beginning to end! We'll soon see though as I have started it today. I may see you at some point next month, dear reader....

READING DAY ONE: On closer inspection, I have just noticed that this book actually encompasses three books. There is also an epilogue and three appendix at the end for good measure. The first book is entitled Autumn and is where my reading adventure starts. Having been introduced to key characters such as The Baron and Reynard, my favourite character, so far, is Morgan 'The Protector'.

Day One: (Page 1 -100 ) The book has started with three plot lines so far and a massive number of characters who navigate each strand of the story. A vast array of details and settings are also thrown into the story. The language is challenging and very detailed, perhaps creating a slightly slower reading pace but this is really necessary to give the reader a sense of the story ahead. This only adds to the the enjoyment of the experience.

Day Two: (Page 100 - 200 ) A fourth plot line has just been introduced. I've got my full fantasy mind into gear. The story is flowing easily and building up very well to the many mysteries that lay ahead.  

Book Synopsis: For ten years the people of eastern Tanaren have known nothing but war, a war to which there seems to be no end in sight. Now, however, things may be about to change. Pitched into the heart of the conflict are four people: Morgan, a veteran warrior charged with an important mission; Cheris, a gifted but wayward sorceress called from her exile on a remote island; Ceriana Hartfield, a noblewoman whose marriage is pre-empted by a chance discovery on a beach; and Cygan, a man from the desolate marshes seeking aid against a merciless foe. Between them, could they hold the key to ending this deadly conflict? But at what cost? 

Day Three: (Page 200-300) - This book is coming together like a cauldron full of magic; it's all binding together like a witches spell..... The ingredients are rapidly coming to boil as we plough further into the story. The action has intensified and a shock death in one of the many plots has slightly shocked me. As I progress further into the story it now feels like a well worn shoe. I love the complex structure of the story, it is very clever and must have taken some time to map out. 

Day Four: (Page 300-433) I am now getting to see the other side of the enemy for the first time. They story is opening up with many more elements to understand and get your head around. I am loving it more and more by the minute. With brutal battles, bitter humour and some tough gripping storylines, the author has not just written a story, he has built a world around many stories. His great imaginative writing leaves the reader lapping up the words. All of these elements have been outstandingly achieved within his first ever book. 

Day Five: (Page 433-562) END OF BOOK ONE: I have now arrived at the final section of book one. I have travelled along a bleak path of rape and death as well as dark graphic encounters which are not for the feint of heart. The action is starting to coalesce into a maelstrom of action which would sit equally as well within the best fantasy classics. 

This book is beginning to feel like an old friend. I am happy and comfortable to venture along many of the paths that the story has to offer. I have bonded with most of the characters that I have been introduced to and I am desperately hoping that their future's remain safe within the next book, Winter.

I have received a great guest post from the author. If you would like to read it, then check it out here.
http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/02/guest-post-howard-sargent-forgotten-war.html

New Day (Page 562 - 700) Book Two: The story is now rolling down a path that holds an uncertain future for the characters. The action has slowed down - it is allowing me to briefly get my breath back. However the characters are leaping about from one plot line into another. The vivid description and imagery is spellbinding. I think that I have developed muscles in my mind as well as in my biceps - this fantasy workout is building up my reading stamina. In my opinion, this is a spectacular work that has been produced by a debut author. To read it, is to believe it. This is your chance to finally buy a copy as it is officially out today. So go on and get yourself a copy - you won't be disappointed if you love this genre. http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Forgotten-War-Howard-Sargent/9781846249792

Next day (pages: 700 - 958) I am still making my way through this epic fantasy. The action has intensified ten fold, it's bursting with fantastical moments that delight me as a reader. The more I read, the more I think back to the first time when I read a J.R.R Tolkien book. To me, this story is actually as good as that.  I can only hope that you give this book a chance to be read and that you're not put off by the size as every page is worth reading.  
I have now entered book three, Spring, and only have another 100 or so pages left to read.  This might be the biggest book that I have read, ever! OUT NOW..........

This is the last update: I have now travelled through the many pages of this epic saga. I have followed the highs and lows that the characters have faced - the battles, friendships, betrayal, love and loss. Many characters have been killed in unimaginable ways. 

Every page, every word has been a joy to read and, believe you me, there has been a lot of them to read. This book has been a five star experience - the best entertainment that I have had in the fantasy world of the imaginable. I would go on to say that it's one of the best adult fantasy books that I have read in a very long time. This is very accomplished writing for a debut author.

There was a glimmer at the end of the book that might suggest more to come. Although, I was under the impression that this might be the author's only work in the offering. I hope that this book sails through bookstores to reach many readers' hands and gain rapid success that will encourage Howard to write more adventures for fans alike.

Updated 09/04/2014

I will be adding updates to my reading journey over the next few weeks, as this may take some time. Especially as I also need to read other books as well...

The Author Story: Howard Sargent, born in Cardiff in 1965 has had his debut novel published almost by accident. Having given up full time work to care for his wife, who has a long term illness he was challenged by his sister to write something for her in his free time. So informal was the arrangement that the first 30-40,000 words were written in notepad as word had not been loaded on to his computer. Eventually serialised in fourteen parts and written between July 2011 and March 2012 (with one subsequent rewrite)it was then disregarded until other family members pushed for its publication in January 2013. "The Forgotten War", a substantial tome just shy of 504,000 words is the result. Hopefully you will enjoy it.

Mr Ripley's One To Watch - Red Rising by Pierce Brown

                       

Synopsis: Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars, generations of people who spend their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that, one day, people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down at Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

Until the day Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

Verdict: Crawling up the walls of dystopian fiction. Pierce Brown's top-notch debut novel, Red Rising, the first book in a new trilogy marrying The Hunger Games and The Lord of the Flies a really serious game of Risk. Brown's futuristic sci-fi world doesn't seem too far off from our own society, with the haves and have-nots, though on the planet Mars, the social strata is color-coded. The Golds, with glimmering eyes and hair, rule cities, starfleets and everything in between. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Reds, the lower working class that everyone looks down upon.

One of those Reds is Darrow, a happily married teenager and the headstrong Helldiver of Lykos, one of many mining cities on Mars. The population of Reds have been told for years that they are gathering resources to make the surface habitable for them and future generations, but Darrow and his wife, Eo, discover that they've been lied to and that Golds and others have already created impressive cities and landscapes. In essence, the Reds have simply been used as slave labor the whole time.

In order to spur Darrow into action against this heinous treatment and fight for freedom, Eo sacrifices herself and is hanged publicly by one of the most powerful Golds, the ArchGovernor. Watching his wife die — and having to take part in it — sends Darrow on a bad path toward his own death. But he's instead recruited by the resistance group Sons of Ares for a grandiose plan: to transform Darrow into a Gold and have him take down the whole ruling society from within. Want to find out more grab the book....

Published by Hodder & Stoughton 28th Jan 2014

Other books you might like: Hugh Howey - The Wool Trilogy and Rick Yancey - The 5th Wave.

Guest Post: Claire McFall - Bombmaker - Published by Templar Publishing

I don’t get much in the way of post.  A few bills, some junk mail.  Dentist appointments.  But the other day I came home from work to something very exciting: that little red postcard from the Royal Mail telling me there was something for me that was so awesome, it wouldn’t fit in my mailbox.  

Instead, it was in the bin.

Don’t panic.  I don’t have a renegade postie intent on destroying my only cool piece of mail in, oh, about six months.  This is the standing arrangement we have: my dog won’t kill him; he leaves my packages in the blue bin in the garden so I don’t have to trudge to the Post Office.  He keeps his fingers; I don’t have to walk through the rain.  And let’s face it, lately there’s been a LOT of rain.

I love the feel of new books.  The smell.  It almost feels like sacrilege to break the spines.  What was even more like sacrilege was having to turn right around and give some of them away.  I mean, family can buy their own, right?  

I’m so excited that Bombmaker is finally being released.  It just might be my favourite thing that I’ve ever written.  And, though I didn’t intend it, what with all the referendum hoohah (technical term) going on at the moment, it’s – accidentally – topical.  

So what’s the book about?  Well, Bombmaker is set in a near-future Britain where the recession has gotten worse, not better, and we’re all, for want of a better word, broke.  The powers that be in Westminster decide that it would be much better to keep the little money left where it matters, and cut off Northern Ireland, Wales and – yup, you’ve guessed it – Scotland.  

They build big barriers that would put the Berlin Wall to shame and declare a new law: anyone caught in England from the Celtic nations without a visa will be tattooed.  A Celtic knot on the cheek, where it’s impossible to hide.  Come back with a tattoo… and you’re shot.  No trial, no mercy.  

Independent Scotland in Bombmaker is a mess: no jobs, no money, no government.  No nothing.  The main character, Lizzie, is a Scot.  And she’s been tattooed already – caught squatting in an alleyway in London by the Government Enforcers – a special branch of the police armed to the teeth and faced with the task of getting us pesky Celts back to our rainy nations where we belong.  

Only there’s no future for Lizzie in Scotland, and she knows it.  Hitching her way to London, she struggles to survive in the new ‘Big Brother’ England.  On the night that should be her last, she avoids death by aligning herself with Alexander, a gangster, a Welshman, and a very, very scary man.  From that point on, he owns her – body and soul.  She becomes his “bombmaker”, with a talent for sneaking into places and an affinity for the circuitry of things that go BOOM.  

Bombmaker hit the shops on February 1^st.  It’s my second novel (I have books, how cool is that?), 

but it’s nothing like Ferryman.  Ferryman is about the afterlife.  It’s about coming of age, dealing with death, falling in love.  Bombmaker is very, very different.  And I hope fans of the first book are okay with that. It’s much darker, more action-y.  It’s about terrorism, survival, knowing who to trust… There are gangsters and drugs and life-or-death chases.  I love it.  What I’m really hoping – and what I’m anxiously waiting to find out – is whether readers love it to.  

So let me know!  Come find me:

Contact:

Web:www.clairemcfall.co.uk

Twitter: @mcfall_claire

Blog:http://clairemcfall.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Claire-McFall/115270711870509?ref=hl

Events: Jorvik Viking Festival Meets Francesca Simon - The Lost Gods - Merchant Adventurers’ Hall York

                             

When gods become celebrities at JORVIK Viking Festival VIKING FESTIVAL

'The Lost Gods' with Francesca Simon -

19 February 2014 at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York

What happens when Norse gods decide to become celebrities? A new book by children’s author Francesca Simon, creator of ‘Horrid Henry’, explores this very subject, as visitors to JORVIK Viking Festival’s mid-week ‘Meet-the-author’ event will find out on Wednesday 19 February at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.

‘The Lost Gods’ is the sequel to her 2011 book ‘The Sleeping Army’, which re imagined a world in which Norse mythology had been adopted as the primary religion in England. In the second book, with their popularity waning, Odin, Thor and the crew decide to jump on board the celebrity bandwagon, with hilarious consequences.

On Wednesday 19 February, children have the chance to meet the best-selling author as part of the JORVIK Viking Festival, ask questions about the Norse-inspired world she created and have their books signed.

Francesca’s talk is just one of the literary-themed events taking place as part of the 30th annual JORVIK Viking Festival. On Thursday 20 February, St Helen’s Church in York becomes the setting for an atmospheric retelling of Beowulf. Peter Carrington-Porter presents a modern adaptation of the historic poem about Norse monsters and myths, continuing the Viking tradition of storytelling in a space lit entirely by candles.

Author Joanne Harris will also be hosting a Norse-mythology themed event as part of the Festival, talking about her book “The Gospel of Loki” on Sunday 16 February at York Mansion House.

Prebooking is strongly advised for all events, as places are limited. Tickets are available online via the Festival website (www.jorvik-viking-festival.co.uk). The Lost Gods takes place at 2.30pm on 19 February at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, with tickets priced at just £5.00 per person. Beowulf by Candlelight is hosted at St Helen’s Church at 4.00pm and 7.30pm on Thursday 20 February. Tickets are £7.00 for adults, £5.00 for concessions and £4.00 for children. The Gospel of Loki takes place at York Mansion House at 2pm on Sunday 16 February. Tickets are £7.00 per person.

Tickets are also available for the JORVIK Viking Festival’s grand finale event at the Eye of York on Saturday 22 February. Gates open at 6.00pm, with entertainment from 6.45pm, including thrilling live battle action, sound and light effects with stunning pyrotechnics. Tickets are prices at £12.00 for adults or £9.50 for concessions, with a family ticket (up to four people) for £36.00.

More information and tickets are available online at www.jorvik-viking-festival.co.uk, or telephone bookings can be made by calling 01904 615505.